"In the Heights" leads Broadway's Tony nominations

NEW YORK (Reuters) - "In the Heights," an original musical
written by a university student about life in a working-class
New York neighborhood, led the nominations for Broadway's top
theater honors, the Tony Awards, on Tuesday.

Among the 13 nominations for "In The Heights" were best
musical, best original score, best performance by a featured
actor in a musical for Lin-Manuel Miranda, who also wrote the
musical, and best direction of a musical for Thomas Kail.

Miranda wrote the musical, set in Manhattan's largely
Hispanic Washington Heights neighborhood, while in his second
year at Wesleyan University and after graduating he and Kail
reworked it for a larger audience. It first played in
Connecticut before moving to an off-Broadway theater and then
making its Broadway debut on March 9 this year.

"Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific" picked up 11
nominations, followed by "Sunday in the Park with George" with
nine. Both received a nod for best revival of a musical, along
with "Grease," the only nomination for that musical, and
"Gypsy," which had seven nominations.

After an award-winning run in London's West End, "Macbeth,"
starring Patrick Stewart, moved across the Atlantic this year
to pick up six nominations, including best revival of a play,
best performance by a leading actor for Stewart, and best
performance by a leading actress for Kate Fleetwood.

"It's so deeply satisfying to find that the production has
been recognized across the creative board," Stewart told
Reuters. "Macbeth does not have too glowing a history with Tony
voters."

Also up for best revival of a play is "Boeing-Boeing,"
which grabbed six nominations; "Les Liasons Dangereuses," which
had five; and "The Homecoming" with three nominations.

Pulitzer Prize-winning play "August: Osage County" received
seven nominations, including best play, for which it is
competing against Tom Stoppard's "Rock 'n' Roll" and "The
Seafarer" -- each with four nominations -- and "The 39 Steps,"
which ended up with six nominations.
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